Orangism in the Dutch Republic in word and image, 1650-75

Jill Stern

The first academic book in English or Dutch to examine the seventeenth century Orangists Draws not only on contemporary books and political pamphlets but also on drama, poetry, portraits, prints and medals Enables the reader to see how the Orangists drew on verbal and visual imagery which was every bit as effective as the more usual forms of political rhetoric Argues that Orangism was a politically and intellectually coherent ideology drawn from theories of the mixed constitution and based firmly in an historic Dutch context

Orangism in the Dutch Republic in word and image, 1650-75

Jill Stern

Description

This remarkable study represents a completely original presentation of the language and imagery used by the Orangists in the critical period in the mid-seventeenth century Netherlands as they sought the restoration of the stadholderate in the person of the young prince William III.

Stern argues that the Orangists had no desire for the prince to become a monarch, rather that they viewed the stadholderate as an essential component of the Dutch constitution, the Union of Utrecht, and fulfilling a key role as defender of the rights and privileges of the citizenry against an overwheening urban oligarchy. Source material is drawn not only from books and political pamphlets but also from contemporary drama, poetry, portraits, prints, and medals. This enables the author to examine the imagery used by the supporters of the House of Orange, in particular the symbols of rebirth and regeneration which were deployed to propagate the restoration of the stadholderate in the person of William III.